


Dust to Atoms

by Super_Luthor



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: 1986, Angst, Chernobyl, Dark Doctor (Doctor Who), Disasters, Eventual Thirteenth Doctor/Yasmin Khan, nuclear disaster, thasmin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-28
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2020-03-26 13:21:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19006627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Super_Luthor/pseuds/Super_Luthor
Summary: The TARDIS goes out of control after having a tantrum and needing a refuel. The Doctor and the fam end up in 1986 where one of the worst events in history takes place.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I am uploading this on my phone and so Ao3 will not allow me to add tags that otherwise do not yet exist. They will be added when I am on my laptop.
> 
> Enjoy!

 

 

"Okay Fam!" The Doctor announced as she walked out of the TARDIS in a gleeful fashion, her coat whipping in the small graceful breeze. The sun shone down upon them all, with the sky a brilliant blue and what appeared to be a town bristling with life. The rest of the team appeared disgruntled and Graham was looking a little worse for wear, whilst Ryan and Yaz were left rubbing the backs of their neck's. The Doctor on the other hand appeared non the wiser, being chirpy in all her glory.

"Are you all okay?" The Doctor asked with a frown. She then walked back over to them and scanned them one by one with the sonic, starting with Ryan, then Yaz and finally Graham. The Doctor then pulled her wrist back and looked down at the device in her hand. Her upper lip curled whilst the rest of her face struggled to form a look of confusion. That was another side effect of not being used to a new body-scronching. That is what her face was doing, "You're all fine. A little winded, and by the way, that I am very sorry for." She said pointedly, "The TARDIS, she's in a bit of a huff and we are also out of fuel which probably explains why we are here. The TARDIS has landed on one of few rifts in space and time which fuel the TARDIS with both artron energy and rift energy."

Yasmin was the first to stop the Doctor in her tirade, "The TARDIS ran out of fuel? But, you said before, back when we met Rosa Parks that the TARDIS solely ran on artron energy."

The Doctor shrugged, "Well, I sort of lied. You see, the rift energy just sort of gives the TARDIS a boost...Like a jump start on a car engine."

Graham was the second to speak up, merely rubbing his neck, "So, Doc, how long are we stuck here for until the TARDIS is full of juice? Not that I'm eager to leave." He quickly added, "I need to get my bearings first." There was a pause as Graham straightened his back, "Does the TARDIS not tell you when she is low on fuel?"

"She was granddad." Ryan said, with his hands in his pockets. He had his back up against the doors of the TARDIS, "That's why we were flung around, right Doctor?" He then looked to the Doctor, who was busy surveying where they were. She spun on her heel, "Uh, yeah. Ten points to Ryan Sinclair. The TARDIS was throwing us around because we had a disagreement which wasn't entirely my fault and as a way of getting back at me, the fuel tank mysteriously cracked. I thought I had fixed it."

"So how long are we stuck here Doctor?" Yasmin asked, walking over to the Doctor's side. She looked up at the buildings around them and noticed they looked fairly new and old at the same time, "Where are we?" She asked curiously, adding to her previous question.

"I don't know. At a guess, I would say the seventies...Not England." The Doctor shrugged, ignoring the first question.

Graham then walked in front of them, looking around himself, "Wait a second, I know this place."

Three pairs of eyes settled on Graham in that moment. All of them curious.

"I have been here before." Graham added as he walked around, "Ya' know, excursions and stuff...But at that point it was a tourist attraction and no one lived here."

"You mean, like it was abandoned?" Ryan asked, "Wait, you've been here before?"

"Doc." Graham said, hesitantly, "None of us should be here, not if it is the year and day I think it is." He then looked at the Doctor. There was a look in his eyes that shook the Doctor to the core, one of dread and horror.

"No." The Doctor said, with a shaky breath, "No, we can't be." She then walked over to a woman sitting on a bench, "Sorry, we are tourists...And last night, we got a little drunk last night and we forgot the day...and date...can you help us please?"

The woman stared at her, "British?" The accent clear to the Doctor, confirming one of her suspicions.

The Doctor nodded slowly, "Yeah..." She then quickly mustered courage in her voice, "Sorry...You are?"

The woman on the bench only frowned further at the Doctor. She quipped a small smile, taking a liking to the Doctor's quirkiness. Slowly, she leaned forward and held out a hand, "Lyudmilla, Lyudmilla Ignatenko."

The Doctor's smile faltered as she now shook the woman's hand slowly. She couldn't help but swallow all the fear and dread she was now holding in, "Lyudmilla Ignatenko..." she said slowly, "And, sorry." She laughed nervously, "What was the date...and the..the year?"

The woman laughed, "You are quite something..." She then glanced at the rest of the team, "And you are all peculiar. Never mind that, the date is April. April 25th, 1986"

That made the Doctor's smile fade completely, "April...25th?" She repeated, uncertainty creeping into her voice. She then looked around them at the buildings. The buildings that housed many families whose lives were yet to be changed forever. A horrible twisting feeling began in the Doctor's gut, "Tell me, Lyudmilla...because again, alcohol." she laughed nervously, "Where are we?"

The Doctor knew the answer and so did Graham, the confirmation would be the most souring of all.

The woman's accent filled the Doctor's ears and only that echoes once she got the answer she wasn't hoping for.

"You are in Pripyat, and the power plant is a few miles down the road." Lyudmilla replied, pointing vaguely in the direction on the power plant.

Yaz had a sinking feeling in her gut suddenly. It showed on her face and even Graham could see it.

"And this...is Chernobyl, well, the plant is...But this town exists because of that power plant. Pripyat and Chernobyl." Lyudmilla shrugged, "May as well be all one."

The Doctor took a nervous step back, "Thank you Lyudmilla for that. Have a wonderful day."

"You too, ma'am." Lyudmilla replied, frowning as the Doctor returned to her friends behind her.

Yaz could tell by the look on the Doctor's face this was not good news. She had only ever seen that face twice before. It was one of devastation and realisation. Before Yaz could say what they were all thinking, the Doctor got there first, "We shouldn't be here." The Doctor said sternly.

Ryan then shrugged, "But why did the TARDIS bring us here if we aren't meant to be? You say to fuel up, but...This is dangerous Doctor."

"Unless the TARDIS..." Yaz apoke quieter, "Can somehow harness the radiation and use it for fuel."

Graham then interrupted, "It hasn't even happened yet and I don't want to be when it does. The TARDIS can protect us though Doc, right?"

The Doctor looked between the three of them, "Pripyat has a rift, a rift which can fuel the TARDIS." The Doctor then looked on in confusion, "but she could have landed at any point in time, so why now? I get that this is a critical moment in history...But planting us here?" The Doctor chewed her lip, "What happens here is a fixed point in time, it cannot be changed in any way."

"Like Rosa and Prem?" Yaz asked curiously.

"Yes, exactly like them." The Doctor confirmed.

"Unless there is something more sinister going on, eh Doc? Because that is how it works right? We wouldn't be here for no reason." Graham replied.

"True, but she does have days off." The Doctor sighed.

"And you think that this is one of them?" Ryan asked her.

"Unless something or someone is going to make the last reactor blow up, potentially wiping out more life than it originally did." Yaz replied, looking between her friends.

"Or it could be something or _someone_ that tries to stop it from happening." The Doctor added, "I don't know, but you lot can't stay with me, it's too dangerous, or it will be." She sighed, "This one, I can handle on my own."

Graham shrugged, "Kids, for once, she is right on this one. We all can't be anywhere near when that thing goes up. Let's just go back to the TARDIS and wait for the Doc to figure it out."

Yaz, of course, was the first to protest, "What? No! Like I said, we do everything together."

The Doctor took a fierce step forward. Anger on her face like Yaz has never seen before, "Take one hard look at me and tell me that you want to kill yourself within the next twenty four hours. That is what will happen. This isn't something you can just walk away from. If you know history, you know how many people will die here. I am sorry, but Graham is right. You should all go to the TARDIS and stay there until I get back."

Yaz felt taken aback, "And what about you?" She then crossed her arms, "Miss high and mighty. You are not indestructible."

"No, but I can absorb and survive that kind of radiation. Now, go back to the TARDIS. That is an order."

Yasmin took instant offence, "Doctor, you are not my superior-"

"No, I am not. But I have a duty of care and protection to all of you." The Doctor hissed, "Now do as I say Yasmin, please."

There was a moment of silence between them, before Yasmin backed off slightly, "How about we stay with you until about an hour before it happens? That way, we all get back to the TARDIS safe, and can leave once the TARDIS is fueled up?"

The Doctor looked between the three of them, before giving in, "Fine, but we have to be _really_ delicate and I mean it. This is another tipping point in history and nothing can get in the way of it."

**AN: Thank you all for reading! I taker inspiration from the HBO mini series,** _**Chernobyl** _ **and a few months prior to that being released I was intrigued by what happened in Pripyat and Chernobyl itself. It was a huge tragedy that should never have happened, but its history and what happened that day is so fascinating to me and I hope it will be to everyone reading.**

**thank you once again**


	2. Fragments

The evening quickly dawned. The soft orange glow of sunlight fading into the ground lit up the Doctor's otherwise dull face. She understood the great tragedy that was to come in just a few hours time. The 26th of April was looming and in the early hours of the morning, the power plant would leak nothing but ash and deadly radiation. The legacy that would follow, is one that would never be forgotten.

As she sat on a bench in the town, watching the sun fade, she merely swallowed the oncoming guilt of what was to come. A brief moment later, she felt a warm hand envelope her own. She was snapped back into the here and now by the only person that could.

"No one could have prevented this." Yasmin said softly, sensing the Doctor's guilt. She looked into the woman's eyes and saw the weight of what would happen holding her down. Yasmin took a deep breath, "Like you said, we can't interfere because it is a fixed point."

Yasmin half expected a quick response, but was only met with silence. The woman before her was in deep thought. Just as Yasmin was about to sit back, the silence was broken.

"No."

Yasmin frowned at the Doctor's response. The Doctor hadn't taken her eyes off of the distance. Yasmin noticed how the Doctor swallowed again. She was stuck, how would she reply to that? Her eyes darted as she tried to think of something to say.

"You say that there was nothing that could be done to stop it." The Doctor said, finally moving, adjusting how she was sitting but never taking her eyes off of the horizon, "But there was."

Another silence followed and Yasmin decided that it was best if she let the Doctor say what she was thinking.

"You see Yaz, at this point in time, Russia was still very communist, believing that they are the almighty nation and that they can do no wrong. The man in charge tonight, he believes that what he says goes and he thinks that everything he does is right. Some believe that Chernobyl is what tumbled communism." The Doctor then shrugged, before laughing, "Don't quote me on that, because I am not always right...But roughly, that is what it is. Thinking that you are better than everyone else is a dangerous tool."

Yasmin smiled slightly, nudging the Doctor's shoulder and raising an eyebrow, "And are you the exception to that rule?"

The Doctor looked at Yaz finally, a brow of confusion appearing, "What do you mean?"

"Do you think you are better than everyone else?" Yasmin asked.

The Doctor then scoffed, "I am better than everyone else." She said sarcastically before shrugging, "Well, I am certainly smarter." She laughed, before shaking her head, "But I am not better than anyone. I am as good as everyone else." There was a brief pause, "But you are slightly wrong, this could have been preventable."

"It could." Yaz agreed, "But it was human error and misjudgement."

"That is an understatement." The Doctor scoffed, fiddling with one of her braces.

"So...What actually happened here? I mean, I know it was a human error, but...how?" Yasmin asked. She knew she had piqued the Doctor's interest with the way her eyes lit up. The Doctor pivoted where she sat to face Yasmin properly, "How much do you want to know?" She asked, excitedly.

Yasmin also pivoted where she was sat, smiling.

"Well, firstly...It started on a night like this...And will happen in just a few hours." The Doctor began, her face turning solemn and drenched with guilt as she stared into a spot on the floor before turning back to Yasmin, "The town is so quiet and no one has a clue what is about to hit them. Not even the men inside the control room and that is where it starts." The Doctor then took a breath, "The man I was talking about who was in charge that evening, was Anatoly Dyatlov and he was the senior engineer of the plant, or is considering we are in 1984 Pripyat."

Yaz interrupted, "Wait, weren't they meant to be doing some sort of drill? And wait, you said early tomorrow morning...How early did it happen?"

The Doctor shrugged, "It happened at about twenty past one in the morning and like I said, no one knew what was coming. Dyatlov just gave the orders. The only problem was, the rods that were supposed to go into the reactor were halfway in and never went completely in which then caused a reaction that was the explosion." The Doctor's eyes looked down into a random spot behind Yaz, guilt appearing once again, "It was only meant to be a safety test...But, it didn't go...safely."

Yasmin swallowed hard, "Didn't they shut it off? Surely there would be a stop button or something?"

"How do you stop a chain reaction once it has started?" The Doctor replied sternly, "It can't. All Dyatlov was concerned about after the explosion was weather the control rods had been lowered." She then shrugged, her eyes finally meeting Yasmin's eyes, "Many men went in there and died, never came out."

"The reactor, when it exploded, what happened?" Yasmin asked.

"There was no reactor left, the whole core was exposed and even worse, there was graphite on the ground. That graphite was radioactive but once again, Dyatlov was certain that there was none, but there was. The firefighters were surrounded by it. The fuel that was leaking was like bullets..Billions and billions and they were to penetrate everything, food, water, air. It was everywhere and what made it dangerous was the uranium because that is what was bleeding into everything."

Yasmin sat back, her jaw slightly lowered and her eyes glistened with unshed tears, "That is awful, truly...Why would the government want to hide it? Why let the people stay there if they knew it was dangerous?" A million questions filled Yasmin's head and the Doctor could see it.

The Doctor's lips pursed together. She shook her head, "Pride, denial...Pride and denial are not good mixed."

"Didn't it take them weeks to evacuate the town though?"

"They...Tried to play it down, saying that the RBMK, that would be the type of graphite that was supposed to be in the reactor." The Doctor explained, "They tried to say that the RBMK levels were 3.6, but they were much much higher. I would say about 32 times higher. The reactor fuel was known as U235 and that." The Doctor then scoffed, "The billions and billions of bullets I mentioned earlier that could penetrate anything? That was inside the core and subsequently on the graphite, burning into the air and it took all of 36 hours to evacuate the town. All the residents may as well have been dead at that point because they had already been exposed long enough." The Doctor paused, "See Yaz, this is why it is too dangerous for us to be here."

"But the TARDIS brought us here for a reason." Yasmin argued, "Because I think what ever will happen isn't just human error. I think someone tries to stop it from happening. I mean, why else would we be here?"

"You could be right, or the TARDIS maybe just pit stopped here." The Doctor sighed.

"You want to go to the plant don't you?" Yasmin asked, noticing the Doctor looking over at the plant. She also noticed how the Doctor had began to fidget.

"I might want to, yeah." The Doctor admitted, "Well, we aren't doing anything else are we?"

"We will get back before the explosion won't we?" Yaz asked.

"When have I ever lied to you?" The Doctor said optimistically. Yasmin raised her brow, crossing her arms.

"Okay, a few. But this one I can stick to." The Doctor replied, before standing up. She then looked down at Yasmin, "Are you coming?"

"I am mad for doing this." Yaz sighed as she stood up. Her heart skipped several beats as the Doctor grabbed her hand.

"Off to Chernobyl." The Doctor smiled.

"Off to Chernobyl." Yasmin said, less optimistically. The pair walked hand in hand, the Doctor beaming as she walked across the town, "You know." The timelord began, "I have never been to Chernobyl. I was surprised to learn that Graham had and I am slightly jealous that he got here first."

"But he never got to see the power plant in full working condition, so you win in that aspect." Yas said pointedly, smiling as the Doctor frowned.

"Yeah, yeah, I suppose I do. They boys should be back at the TARDIS by now anyway, I told them to be there by dark."

"And we are the exception?" Yasmin asked.

"Yep, we are." The Doctor beamed.

...

Once at the power plant, the Doctor was approached by some guards, "Hello there, I am here for health and safety checks. Got to make sure this place is a safe envronment for workers and citizens of the town." She said as she flashed her psychic paper at them.

The two guards stared incredulously at the two women. The first nodded and stepped out of the way, "Go ahead." He said gruffly.

Yaamin eyed the two men carefully, quickly following the Doctor after she had begun to walk again. In all honesty, Yaz was excited just to see the power plant up close, but from what she knew, it sent a shiver down her spine. In her own time, this place is a ghost town because of an event that would happen pretty soon.

The Doctor turned, noticing that Yasmin had stopped walking. The Doctor looked up at the tall building, "It's a lot to take in, I know. We haven't even got to the control room yet."

"Control-" Yasmin began, just as the Doctor grabbed her hand again.

"Off we go."

AN: Thank you all for reading. please tell me if I have anything wrong and thank you all for your feedback!


	3. Shadows Fall

"Shadows fall on our lives So quickly, my friend

We feel warmth and see light

Then darkness descends

Shadows fall without warning

And we stumble around

Shadows fall without pity

And there's no peace to be found." (The Proclaimers, Shadows Fall.)

The corridor was long, dark and hauntingly real. Yasmin Khan never in a million years thought she would end up in the Chernobyl power plant in 1986, nevermind that, she never in a million years thought she would end up with an alien that could travel in time and space, yet here she was.

Shadows fell all around them, enveloping them with small, dim lights overhead. The Doctor was in front, walking ahead with her hands by her sides. She was quiet, clearly thinking and so was Yasmin, but she probably was not thinking the same as the Doctor. In fact, she had more and more questions about the event that was soon to take place. As their feet drummed on the concrete, a tense pressure built up within Yaz just to ask questions, but she realised that perhaps asking those questions about an event that hadn't even happened yet inside the power plant that was in Soviet Russia was not the best of ideas and so instead she remained silent.

Soon they came to an opening in the corridor and light spilled out. Voices suddenly echoed in the corridors, lurching Yaz out of her thoughts.

"Here we are." The Doctor beamed with a hint of surprise in her tone, "I didn't think we would arrive, but here we are. The heart of the operation." The Doctor then shrugged, "Well, I say the heart. The heart of this place is the core-" She paused as a tall man walked over with a white cap, jacket trousers, shoes and a grey moustache. To Yasmin, he looked very imitating, but the Doctor just happily stood in front of him, pulling out her psychic paper, "John-Joan Smith, health and safety." She said quickly.

The man watched the Doctor with a scowl, but took a moment to read what the Doctor was showing to him, "We did not order health and safety, get out." He ordered.

"Senior engineer, Dyatlov, I assume?" The Doctor asked before putting the psychic paper away and back into her pocket, "We do routine checks and sometimes show up unannounced just to make sure operations are running smoothly, do you mind?"

There was a pause, Dyatlov was silently judging them. He was keenly eying the Doctor before waving his hand dismissively, "Do your safety checks, do not talk to me or interfere. The business that happens here is paramount and as you know, secret and as you are British, I would be very careful." He then paused again, glaring at the two women before going back to work.

The Doctor let out a relieved breath, before turning to Yaz, "Now, lets see. This is the control room of this plant and there is so much cool stuff that happens in here, before, well...You know." She shrugged, curling her upper lip. Putting her hands on her hips, she pushed her coat behind her and looked at a wall covered in dials, lights and the such, aware that Dyatlov was watching them, suspiciously. As the Doctor squinted, she then went into her pocket and pulled out to Yasmin's amazement a pair of glasses. She then put them on her face, and smiled slightly as she could see things much clearer, "That is better." Briefly she looked at Yasmin who was more or less gawking.

A look of concern crossed the Doctor's face as Yasmin stared at her, "Are you okay Yasmin? I know all of this is a little-"

"No, no." Yasmin interrupted, clearing her throat, "I mean, yeah." She choked, "This is a little strange but...I never knew you wore glasses." She then gasped, her face brightening, "Do you wear them to make you look smart, or do you wear them because you need them?"

"I don't know really." The Doctor shrugged, "A bit of both, and anyway, I am a few billion years old, my eyes will wear a little." She then stared at Yasmin a little while longer before returning her eyes to the wall before them.

"So, what does all this stuff do?" Yasmin asked, crossing her arms. She stared at the lights flashing.

"Various stuff, they monitor pressure, how many neutrons are going around, radiation levels, how much electricity is being generated. Hundreds of things."

Suddenly the building shook slightly. Immediately Yaz and the Doctor looked at each other, both of them paling as quick as each other. The Doctor pulled the glasses off of her face and put them into her coat once again. She then marched towards the control panel, "What on Earth was that?"

"We don't yet know." Dyatlov said to her, "Turbulance?"

"You shouldn't be phrasing that as a question." The Doctor hissed, "Turbulance from what?" She then walked over to the other wall. She looked at the various Geiger counters. Gently, she tapped one of them and sighed with relief, "Radiation levels are normal."

"Are you sure about that?" Yasmin hissed slightly. She had a point, and whilst she did trust the Doctor, she did not trust the technology around them.

The Doctor looked over to her and knew what she meant. Immediately she pulled out her sonic and scanned the area around them.

Anatoly Dyatolov only glared at the Doctor before his voice boomed around the room, making the other workers jump, "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Special diagnostics tool." The Doctor hissed, before reading the sonic carefully, "No leaked radiation, good." She then swallowed, slowly letting go of the button on the sonic. She then stared blankly at Yasmin, "We wanted to know what brought us here...Now I know." She then swallowed hard.

Yasmin only looked at her, dread pooling in her stomach. If it wasn't for where they were, she would normally be running and being fuelled by adrenaline. Instead, she was slowed down by fear, "Doctor." Yasmin said weakly as several eyes looked in her direction.

Dyatlov only glared further, "You said you were health and safety."

"Not now chief, I'm busy. I have a doctorate in health and safety and a lot more other things now I think about it." She then tore her eyes off of the sonic and looked at him, eyes narrowing, "Normally I am a doctor of hope, but with what is coming..." She drawed off. She then put the sonic away and smiled as if nothing had happened, "I need to go and check out the rods. What time is the safety check?"

Dyatlov looked at his watch, "Twenty-past one."

"And how long do I have?"

"An hour." Dyatlov growled.

"What?! It took us that long to get here?!" The Doctor gasped, mostly to herself, "Fine. I need to go and check out the rods."

"Doctor." Yaz said sternly with her voice full of concern.

"I'll be fine Yaz, you just stay up here, I will be twenty minutes, max." The Doctor said as she walked over to her. She rubbed her arms in reassurance.

"You said we shouldn't have come here-" Yaz said to her.

"We- Health and safety, there is something down there and I need to check it. I'll be fine." She shrugged, before giving her a quick hug, "Keep an eye on this lot." The Doctor then briefly looked at the team, even more so, Dyatlov, "Look after her." She said sternly with raised brows. The Doctor then walked out the door, leaving Yasmin on her own and she headed toward the nuclear reactor.

Upon arrival to the reactor, the Doctor used the sonic to unlock the door. Before she entered, she swallowed deeply, "I'm sorry Yaz." She said sadly, "Fam." She then walked in, closing the door behind her. All fear ceased in her face, replaced with a straight face, calculating and cold. The Doctor's posture changed, her arms at her sides, fists clenching, "It's been a while." She said with a cool tone, "Now." She said, walking over to the creature coming face to face with them, "What do you want with Chernobyl?" The Doctor snarled, top lip curling slightly.


	4. Sweet Little Lies

Of all the times Yaz had ever heard of the Vladimir Ilyich Lenin Nuclear Power Plant, otherwise known as, Chernobyl in her on time 28 years ago, she never understood the scale of the incident and what it meant to be there from all the stories she had heard until now.

Time was dangerously ticking away, with the Doctor still nowhere to be seen and the proceedings of the safety test dangerously nearing, she grew more and more anxious. Not only that, as Dyatlov was giving orders, she saw two work men looking nervous.

"Oh stop being wimps and get on with it!" Dyatlov bellowed. Yasmin looked between them, she had no idea where the Doctor was, and it seemed as though the test was going to happen with or without her there.

"You can't start the test." Yasmin blurted out as the nerves got too much. Dyatlov glared at her, "We are preparing the test little girl and yes, I am aware that your friend is currently in the room where the rods are, so we are going to wait for her to come back. She has ten minutes before we start the test."

Yasmin's eyes widened, her heart was in her stomach. If it took her and the Doctor an hour to get here that meant-

"No." Yasmin gasped.

"I'm sorry?!" Dyatlov spat.

Yasmin recoiled, swallowing harshly. She felt like she was going to be sick. She sat down and stay quiet, "It was nothing, sorry, you carry on." She said nervously to Dyatlov.

Dyatlov, getting annoyed with Yaz's presence only glared at her further before being interrupted.

"Sir, I would strongly advise that we wait to do the test." Aleksandr Akimov nervously said to Dyatlov. Dyatlov then walked over to Aleksandr and stood centimetres from him, "I have worked longer in this power plant than you have, I have more experience, I don't care what you think. The test is happening TONIGHT!"

Yasmin jumped as Dyatlov raised his voice. As she looked around, she noticed how nervous all the other workers were looking and that didnt help her anxiety at all. After all, she knew that the Doctor was not going to get back in time and even then, it took them an hour to get there. It would take an hour to get back and by then it would be too late.

"No." Akimov said to Dyatlov, "If I say it is too dangerous-"

"What you say does not go." Dyatlov snarled, "If you continue to refuse I will make sure you lose your job." He then loomed around the room at all the other workers, "That goes for all of you. Now get to work." Anatoly then walked out of the room, leaving all the workers stunned.

Akimov walked back over to his station where his colleague nervously stood and spoke quietly, "We can do this...Even though we are on our own."

His colleague nervously nodded.

None of this helped Yasmin at all. As she watched everything going on, she jumped as the Doctor walked back in, "Where the hell have you been?!" She hissed.

"Now? We have to do this now?!" The Doctor snapped back, "I've been...busy." She trailed off, looking nervous, "How long do we have?"

"Five minutes." Akimov said to them, before turning back to the controls.

The Doctor paled instantly, looking back at Yasmin. Yaz looked terrified , "Doctor." She said nervously, "It took us an hour to get here." She then lowered her voice, "We have five minutes. What the hell was down there?"

"That doesn't matter now Yaz." The Doctor smiled nervously, "All we need to do is go."

"Stay." Dyatlov said sternly as he walked back in, "You are health and safety, so why don't you watch this test take place and see if we do it well enough?"

The Doctor then smiled nervously, "Of course, wouldn't want to miss it."

"Doctor." Yaz said sternly, "If we are going to die here, you are going to tell me what happened down there."

The Doctor turned to Yaz, on edge, "I can't. I'm sorry, but we have to let this happen."

"But we will die if we don't go!" Yaz hissed, before Dyatlov interrupted them, "I'm sorry, is there something going on over here?"

"No, nothing." The Doctor smiled, "We are peachy."

Dyatlov only frowned before turning to his men, "Okay, let's get this thing started."

Yaz only glared at the Doctor from the side whilst the Doctor looked on, terrified.

AN: Hello everyone, sorry for the late update! I have been very busy! I hope you are all enjoying this series and for those of you that have seen HBO and Sky Atlantic's Chernobyl, what do you think?


	5. Time

The Doctor looked around the room anxiously and watched the numbers on the wall climb, and they continued on climbing. Then she felt the Earth move. Yasmin only looked at her in utter horror, "Doctor." She said nervously, "Am I going to die?"

The Doctor stared at her with uncertainty written all over her face, "I don't know." She clearly swallowed hard and then a firm silence followed.

"It took us an hour to get here, and we know what happens next. That is too long, by then we will-" Yaz was deeply panicked. The Doctor now glared, "I never promised you that I would get you back safe. I told you what the risks were when you began travelling with me."

Yasmin looked at her with disgust, "I didn't realise what I was letting myself in for."

"You knew the risks!" The Doctor snapped, "And we both know that Chernobyl is a tipping point in history!"

"And we were never here!" Yasmin snapped. In that moment there was a huge explosion and a reflection of the orange flames illuminated the Doctor's face. In that moment, she saw a side of the Doctor she never thought she would see.

The weight of regret and over a thousand years of pain hung in the depths of the Doctor's eyes. The silent rage of the Timelord, but also the eyes of all she had done throught her life were looking back at Yasmin and it deeply scared the teenager.

In the chaos, there stood a deadly silence. Yasmin's lips went dry as her heart plummeted in her chest. Words left unspoken. As far as Yasmin was concerned, her and the Doctor were never a part of that moment in time, until now, "Were we?"

The Doctor, only kept staring. Yasmin then looked in front of her as a worker walked in with blistering red skin, and sweat leakig all over his face. He looked very ill and like he was about to die, which, wouldn't be a far off description.

Yaz mouth hung, agape, whilst as she looked at Dyatlov, he was not bothered about the condition of the worker.

"Were the rods lowered?" Dyatlov asked him. The man looked too ill to reply and as he was about to, the man vomited. Dyatlov only scoffed, "Get him down to the nurse." He looked at all of his other men without a care in the world, "I need someone to go and check the core, and those rods need lowering."

The other workers looked both stunned and afraid. Akimov hesitated, "There, there was an explosion...and him..."

"Mild radiation poisoning, I have seen it before. It is easily curable." He said firmly, "Now someone go and check the core."

"There isn't one." The Doctor interrupted.

Dyatlov turned on his heel. He froze before walking over to the Doctor, "You weren't there, so, how the bloody hell would you know?"

The Doctor shrugged, "The ground shook. There are flames. My best bet, if the core is not there, it means that there is also Graphite on the ground."

Dyatlov scoffed, almost laughing. Akimov and the other workers looked at their boss, horrified and in shock.

The Doctor, however, stood her ground. With her chin held high, she shoved her hands into her pockets, "Don't send more men down there for them to die needlessly."

Dyatlov glared at the Doctor, before giving an order, "Go check and lower those rods!" He ordered.

The Doctor looked behind him, "I wouldn't, not unless you want to die." She said firmly, "You are not sending people down there!" She snapped, "There is graphite on the ground and your core is gone!"

"There is not graphite on the ground!" Dyatlov growled, grabbing the lapels of the Doctor's coat, "That would be impossible!"

"Ah mate." The Doctor smirked, before getting cocky, "Russia, you lot are all so proud, none more so than you. You don't understand this technology. This reactor wasn't even finished. A conspiracy, or a danger waiting to happen. Pripyat is now filling with deadly radiation and your government won't let people leave because you all think that it is not as bad. The only reason the world realises how bad this is, is because radiation gets picked up in Sweden-"

"Doctor!" Yasmin hissed. The Doctor went quiet, before pulling herself out of Dyatlov's grip, "You made a mistake." She growled, "And many are going to pay for it." She continued glaring before grabbing Yasmin's arm and leaving with her, "Now we go."

"You owe me an explanation!" Yasmin snapped, "I have never seen that side of you before. Who are you?!"


	6. Which side of the fence are you on?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone, sorry I have been away. I have been busy with my acting shenanigans and reading a brilliant book about Anne Lister, and Gentleman Jack. The book is called, 'Gentleman Jack: The real Anne Lister.' The book is by Anne Choma and Sally Wainwright and I recommend it one hundred percent

The Doctor and Yasmin only got half-way down the hall, when two soldiers stood in front of them. The Doctor nodded slowly, “Are we under arrest?” She asked calmly, before shrugging, “I’ve been arrested loads of times…This time though, I really wouldn’t recommend it.”

“You know too much.” One of the officers spoke to her, his straight posture never faltering, “Viktor Bryukhanov wishes to speak to you.” He said arrogantly, “Come with us.”  He ordered before stepping aside and holding out an arm, to show the Doctor which direction to go.  Yasmin nudged the Doctor, “If we stay, I don’t know about your chances of survival, but mine decrease the longer we are here.”   
The Doctor swallowed and hesitated, knowing Yaz was right, “I don’t-I don’t know how long we are going to be here and yes you’re right. The longer we are here at the epicentre of this explosion…” she then hesitated, “Yasmin Khan, you have to trust me.”

“Don’t Doctor.” Yaz snapped, “I know that tone when you say my name like that, it means that we could quite possibly be in mortal danger. Answer me straight, am I going to die from radiation exposure if we stay here longer than needed?”

The Doctor had no idea to respond and paused when one of the soldiers pushed her forward, “Go, now and stay quiet. Women talk too much, especially you. The woman who knows too much.”

Yasmin glared at him, but walked with them anyway, “Mate, Chernobyl has just gone up, this city needs to be evacuated and now!” In that moment, the soldier who was nudging the Doctor forward shoved Yaz against the wall and got in her face. The Doctor instantly stepped forward, “You need to back off now.”  
The soldier who had Yasmin against the wall, only snorted, smirking in Yaz’s face, “You both have fire inside you, know your place, _girl_.” He then stared at the floor beside Yaz, “Handcuff the women.” He ordered, before then looking Yasmin in the eyes, “Hands above your head, girl.”   
The intense fear Yaz was feeling was starting to surface, but she couldn’t help it in this case. She was terrified, if she knew anything from history, she knew she only needed to be in the middle of this disaster for only a couple of hours before she had a death sentence placed upon her. The young police officer looked over at the Doctor, who only looked back at her with such sadness in her eyes. A sadness she had never seen before, and she knew this meant only one thing.

They were as good as dead.

The sound of handcuffs clicking on their wrists was the only sound that filled the narrow hallway. The two women then remained quiet as they were marched to a bunker where Viktor would be waiting.

** 30 minutes after the reactor explosion **

Both the Doctor and Yasmin were still in handcuffs and were sat in silence, neither of them saying a word. Yasmin was accepting what she thought could be her death. As she was about to speak, Anatoly Dyatlov and Viktor Bryukhanov walked in, breaking the cold silence that previously filled the room.

Dyatlov locked eyes with the Doctor, and the Doctor looked back at him with eyes cold and calculating. Yasmin watched Viktor as he walked over to them. He then pulled out a chair and sat in front of them.

“There was no health and safety check scheduled, you were not even supposed to get in.” Viktor spoke to the Doctor, “Now.” He said as he sat forward, “I can be a fair man and so now I will give you the chance to speak.” The man then smoothed his tie down his shirt, “Anatoly has said that you are making up lies about there not being a core, and he also says you have been spouting lies about there being graphite on the ground, now, why would you say something like that?”

The Doctor remained quiet. Her demeanour never changing.

“Let’s try this another way.” He said calmly, changing his sitting position. He then clasped his hands together, “Did you know this was going to happen? Did you make it happen?”

“Only an idiot would suggest that I had anything to do with it.” The Doctor said with a cocky tone and a shrug, “After all, I’m only a woman, what would I know?”

Viktor then looked at Yasmin, the Doctor could see the malicious intent behind his eyes, but she knew Yaz could fend for herself. Viktor only stared more intently at Yasmin, “What about you? Did you have anything to do with it?”

Yasmin couldn’t believe the nerve, “What?! Mate, I’m nineteen and I know nothing about places like this! If you want someone to blame, blame him!” She looked up at Dyatlov, as did Viktor. He then turned back to Yasmin, “Why do I need to ask him?”

“Because he ran this test when he knew it was unsafe!” Yasmin snapped.

“I thought you said you knew nothing about nuclear power plants?” Viktor retorted.

“She doesn’t, but I do.” The Doctor replied, causing Viktor and Dyatlov to look at her. The Doctor then shrugged, “I like reading.”

“And you are the idiot that is spouting nonsense about there being graphite on the ground.” Dyatlov hissed, “There is no graphite on the ground.”

The Doctor rolled her eyes and looked up, exasperatedly, “Anatoly Dyatlov, you’re lucky. You survive this, but many don’t!” She hissed, “If we are of no use, just let us go.”

“No.” Viktor interrupted, “You were both trespassing, therefore you are under arrest. You’re both staying here until we can get suitable transport to get you to the nearest police facility, but, Doctor seems as you think you know so much…Why don’t you stay and observe what happens next?”

“I really rather would not.” The Doctor snapped, “Look, we will be on our way if you just let us go.”

Viktor and Anatoly laughed, “You think we would let you go? You could do anything.” Viktor snapped, “No if there is indeed graphite on the ground, you’ll come in use for the clear up.” He then looked at Yaz, “As for your friend, she should be shot.” He said, glaring at Yasmin before standing up. He then went to leave, but as he did, the Doctor began to laugh.

Yasmin frowned, as did both the men.

The Doctor carried on laughing, “Okay…Okay….” She then slowly calmed down, her smile turned into a bitter one, “Thirty-six hours…That’s when you will evacuate this town. Thirty-six.” Her smile slowly faded, but it remained there partially. It was crooked and cold, “I’ll survive this, but Yaz won’t and if you do not let us go and she dies of anything, cancer, radiation sickness, anything. If she dies, you will have me to answer to and believe me. I will not be kind.”

Viktor merely shrugged, “Lies, that is all foolish women tell. Lies. And do not threaten me. That is your worst mistake.” He then left the room, Dyatlov following in tow.

After the door closed, the Doctor kept the same face on from before. The same evil smile, the same cold calculating look. It genuinely scared Yasmin, she even flinched as the Doctor looked at her.

The Doctor noticed her flinch and looked at the floor, “Yasmin-“

Yaz shook her head, “I’m genuinely scared of you right now Doctor. You never told me who the hell you were…Now I don’t think I need to know. They say a soldier knows a soldier, but what about me? I’m a probation officer and from what I have seen tonight…You’ve walked over so many corpses, and so many people have died whilst in your company…”

The Doctor dropped her head, “Yaz, I can explain.”

“I don’t want you to…I just want to get out of this alive…To not die in a few weeks from radiation poisoning.” Yasmin then swallowed the onslaught of tears she felt coming, “You let Prem die, you walked away from it like a soldier walking away from the battlefield…” Tears now began to fill Yasmin’s eyes, “Doctor, look at me…Please.”

The Doctor could not believe she was at this point again. She thought she had changed for the better, but it appears history always finds a way of repeating itself. The Timelord now felt vulnerable herself as she felt tears coming herself. Nevertheless, she looked at her friend in the eye, it was the least she deserved.

“Have you ever fought in a war?” Yasmin asked, she then hesitated, “You said to us, on the first day we met you that your people were gone…From what I have seen of you, I can only come to the conclusion that…”She trailed off and as she did, the Doctor swallowed the lump residing in her throat. She could see that Yasmin was struggling to comprehend what she was about to say, but the Doctor knew she wouldn’t be far wrong. Her companion then took a breath, “I looked at you with wonder and amazement all the time and from what I have seen tonight, you are a completely different person. I have seen a stranger tonight, and not the Doctor that I know, which leads me to ask…Did you…Did-“

“Yes.” The Doctor said harshly, but her voice shook, “I did.”

Yasmin scoffed in disbelief, “Genocide?”

The Doctor nodded slowly, “All of them...It was a few thousand years ago, but I was a different man back then, but don’t think it does not ever haunt me because it does, okay? It does, but I had a choice. Them or the rest of the universe. It wasn’t like I woke up that morning and thought, ‘Hey, why don’t I just blow up my own planet for the sake of it?’” She said sarcastically, “There was a war Yaz, a really huge war. You met our mate, that Dalek. That was just one. They were raining down in the sky on my planet and I had to do it. It was them or the rest of the universe like I have said.”

“And so you chose them?” Yasmin asked.

“I had no choice.”

“And Aaron? If that Dalek didn’t let go, would you have let him fall?”

The Doctor looked at her, with unspoken anger behind her eyes, “If it meant saving the rest of you. Yes.”

With that, Yasmin went quiet, as did the Doctor. They now needed to think of how to get out of this situation and fast. The Doctor could feel the tension between her as Yaz, staring at her for a moment before looking ahead.

“I’m sorry.” Is all the Doctor said, but Yaz remained quiet, not answering her apology.


End file.
